Darkest Before Dawn
by Issendai
Summary: Sakura burned the bridge to Konoha when she accepted a mission to go undercover in Akatsuki. But how can she explain herself to the ones she loves when the mission doesn't technically exist? Hiatus.
1. Classified

Okay. So I probably shouldn't start something new, but my other story is something I can work on whenever, but the urge to write this one just bugged me and I had to do it. I've been thinking about doing it for a while, but I never got around to it.

I'd like to take a shot at this, but it most likely won't be great. But guys, please review. I like to hear some constructive criticism, and I like to hear ideas and whatnot, so please just let me know.

******** Darkest Before Dawn ********

Sakura fidgeted anxiously with the hem of her skirt as she waited to see her mentor, Tsunade. She hadn't been waiting long, but it was enough time to make her nervous and a little paranoid. For all the times that Sakura had been called in to see her shishou before, she'd never had to stand outside and wait very long.

_Something bad has happened, _she thought. _It's been about fifty three minutes since I was summoned. _The rosette haired girl paced back and forth in front of the door to the office. What could be taking so long? _Has something gone wrong during Naruto's mission?I know he was sent to Mist to escort one of the wealthier citizens home, but maybe he was attacked? _Sakura sighed. _No, now you're just being silly; it's Naruto we're— _

"Sakura-san?" Questioned a soft voice, effectively breaking her train of thoughts. It was so surprising that Sakura had to resist the urge to step back, startled. She hadn't even heard the door open while she had been pondering.

"Oh, sorry Shizune." She answered, relaxing, and smiling sheepishly to try an cover her unease.

Shizune smiled back, albeit a little weakly. "Tsunade will see you now, Sakura-san." She bowed a fraction and stepped aside, gesturing into the Hokage's office. Sakura nodded and moved around her, heading for the office. Her smile slid off her face, however, when she took in the disarray of her mentor's office. _Oh no. Something bad __**has**__ happened._

Shizune did not enter behind the teenager; only closed the door for privacy.

Tsunade glanced down at the village underneath her, a frown marring her lips. She heard the door slip shut behind Sakura, but it was silent for a few moments before any sound escaped her throat. The Hokage turned around to look at her prized pupil, observing the way the seventeen year-old bit and sucked on her lips, fearing for the worst.

Sakura waited. She was antsy to know what was so important that she had been required to dismiss all of her 'in' patients at the hospital for a meeting with her teacher, but if Tsunade didn't quite have the words to use yet, Sakura would wait. That wouldn't have been so bad if she was the only other in the room, but she wasn't. Kakashi Hatake was situated on the left side of the door, there to quietly observe the proceedings, though his eyes were currently focused on Sakura's face. It didn't seem as if he was anguished; in fact there was no discernable emotions playing across his face at all.

That in itself was a worry. Kakashi was always so full of life, whether it was a small smile that stayed in place throughout the day, or a calm sort of happiness that always managed to ground a person. To see him devoid of anything ate at her nerves and sent a sick feeling of dread spilling down her insides until it settled heavy and unbearable at the bottom of her stomach. She faced the windows and looked at her teacher's face, momentarily forgetting about her previous sensei.

"Tsunade-shishou…?"

"Sakura." Tsunade answered, slowly and carefully. "I know you want me to explain to you what's going on. I'll tell you, but I want you to relax first," she gestured to the chair in front of the desk (which was still piled high from paperwork that needed to be completed by the end of the day). "Please take a seat; I… This isn't easy, by any means."

Sakura chewed the inside of her lip as she complied. She chose the seat on the far left of the office because it the view from it always relaxed her nerves. If the news, or mission, or whatever it was truly was as bad as it was slowly appearing to be, Sakura would need all the help that she could get.

Tsunade returned to looking out at Hokage mountain, viewing her predecessors as she continued to speak.

"You're aware that movement from Akatsuki has been sighted near the Village Hidden in the Clouds, are you not?" Sakura hadn't known that, but she didn't comment. "As of yet we do not know which members were in the area, only that two of them were spotted. Clearly you can see where I'm going? If they are moving towards the Hachibi, they are moving closer to Naruto."

Sakura sucked a breath, sharp and deep, into her lungs. _No! We can't defend against Akatsuki if they launch an attack! It's not…They can't… _

Tsunade was unfazed, and she went on. "We do not know what their goals are. We do not know when they will come, only that they will. We don't even know how many of the original members remain; to know this, we would have to have known how many there was to begin with. Our last contact with them was their attack on Gaara, two years ago. Therefore, we need someone to find out." The mentor glanced over her shoulder at her student, as it sunk in.

"You… You want _me_ to track them down?" Sakura bit out, restlessly. "Why me? Why not someone more qualifi—''

"Who?" Tsunade demanded, spinning around on her heels, staring down the pink haired girl. "Who else is there? Sakura, you are the best medic in Konoha, you have most extraodinary chakra control, and you boast strength that others cannot achieve even with years of practice."

Sakura did not agree. "Tsunade-shishou, surely you are the better medic," she retorted, feeling her shoulders tense up. "You can't say that I am better."

"But you are." The argument fell flat, and things quieted down for a minute or two, until Sakura felt it was safe to go on.

"What about Kakashi? Ino? Shikamaru? Why can't they do it?" Sakura queried.

"Kakashi has been a loyal shinobi to Konoha for nineteen years. His name is widely known, and so he would be denied immediately. Ino does not have the mental strength to withstand it. And Shikamaru has a family here, Sakura. He is invaluable both in the field and with his family. We can't take him from that, especially when we do not know how long the…venture will take." She explained.

If Sakura was tense before, her whole body was stiff and locked up now. _The mission has an unknown length? It could be months! _The next though sent her reeling; _trying to get information from Akatsuki would be like finding a needle in a haystack. It could even take years! _

"I'm not asking you to directly confront an S-class criminal. What I _am _hoping for, however, is that you will…extricate the information we want in a much more pleasant way. What that means, in the best circumstance, is that you will meet with their leader and join the ranks of Akatsuki. If you are not able to do that, then you will be killed." Tsunade paused again. "Sakura, you are the only one I trust enough to do this." She finished gravelly.

Silence weighed out as she rolled the information over in her head. There was no way it would be as easy as Tsunade was making it out to be. She couldn't just waltz into the midst of a known group of criminals out of the blue. It would not work unless…

The full implications hit her like a ton of bricks. "You want me to become a missing nin?" She demanded, sprouting from her seat in determination. "I can't do that!" She fumed, exhaling a large puff of air. "It's not that easy."

Tsunade contemplated her pupil for a moment. "You're right," she sighed, "It isn't. We must proceed carefully, because this mission is top secret. Actually, according to the records, this does not exist. The first thing that must be done is determine your crime. The second, we will have you arrested for said crime, ten hours from the time you exit my office. You will be taken into custody, and you will 'escape' shortly after the midnight patrol returns. You will be escorted to the border of Fire, and from there you will have to make your own way. We will list you in the Bingo book, and all villages will be on the look out for you."

There was that sick feeling again. Sakura's body felt numb and tired as it absorbed the happenings around her, and so she let herself collapse into the chair she had just risen from. Her head fell into her hands.

"And you want me to wait for them to make contact with me."

"Yes. That is what you will do."

"How will I contact you?" Sakura questioned. Tsunade stepped to her desk and slid open one of the drawers. She dropped a book on the desk that was no thicker than a small notebook. "In this, there exists no words. You will write them, and they will appear in this," she retrieved a matching book, only in a different color, and Sakura noticed the book was entitled, 'Finances'. It must be for secrecy. Anyone snooping would bypass that completely. "It does not matter what you write with, only know that I will be able to read any and all recorded it in. The words will disappear from your view as soon as you write them, and will be available to me instantaneously. The text will not disappear from my book as it is read. I will not be able to send any messages back, of course, because it works both ways and there is a chance it may be compromised."

Sakura nodded, staring at wonder at the neat invention.

"I believe that means we are now at the point where we discuss your transgression," the Hokage fixed her a look. "Keep in mind that it will not be minor. If you are caught, you will be executed on sight." The kunoichi swallowed the lump in her throat, and mulled over possible crimes, but Tsunade beat her to it.

"Sakura. Did you know that the punishment for killing a kage's personal ANBU is grounds enough for punishment by death?" It hung thick in the air between them for what seemed like minutes, but was only seconds. The pieces were sliding together, and were quickly revealing a picture Sakura did not want to see.

"Kakashi and I have spoken already on the subject. He was stationed as one of three ANBU Black Ops directly under myself. My orders over-ride any others he is given." Tsunade turned her attention to Kakashi in a distant stare as she said, "Twelve hours from the time you leave here Kakashi Hatake will be long dead."

Sakura's knees buckled. She slid out of her chair, crumpled on the floor, as her eyes were wide with dread. "You…you want me to kill Kakashi-sensei?" She whispered. It was all so obvious now! His reason to be here. His mask of indifference. Every little thing.

"He will fake his death, and you will be his executioner, Sakura."

The window grabbed the Hokage's attention once more. "Speak of this to no one. Gather only the bare minimum; personal items and two changes of clothes. One of my personal ANBU will retrieve them at 3:30 this afternoon from your house. You will leave your bag on your bed, and your window is to remain open. Nobody is to see the exchange." She sighed. "Sakura…choose your priorities carefully."

It remained unsaid what the main priority was. Naruto. Sakura nodded heavily, and stood up shakily.

"Is that all, shishou?" The tone was flat, monotonous; it disguised the raw fear and pain of the shinobi it came from.

"Yes. You are dismissed," The older woman replied, as Sakura made to leave. "But Sakura, please understand. I love you as my own. I would not ask this of you if I did not believe in you. You are the only one who can do this."

"Understood, shishou," Sakura replied emotionlessly, leaving the office for what would be the last time.

Behind the door Konoha's Hokage clenched her fists and wiped the single tear that slipped down her cheek. Kakashi slipped out the door unnoticed, without a single word spoken the entire half hour he was in the office. He had loose ends to be tying up as well.

He'd be a dead man tonight.

The hands of the clock on the wall reached 8:23 am.

**tbc.**

If there's any comments, compliments, or suggestions, please let me know. I'll try to address anything at the end of my chapters, so people don't need to be bothered with things they don't really need to see at the beginnings of chapters and can dive right into the main body of the work.

Thanks guys, I'll try to update this as soon as possible, and it's my main priority at the moment, but no promises!


	2. If Today Was Your Last Day

I guess that I forgot to disclaim the last chapter, but in I think everyone knows that if I owned Naruto, I wouldn't have to write this story. I have a long way to go with my writing skills for anything likfe that. Therefore, Naruto isn't mine.

***********************

**T**he streets outside the Hokage Tower were teeming with citizens and shinobi alike when Sakura stepped outside. It seemed that happiness had bloomed with the sunrise and infected most of the people living in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, but it was impossible to shake off the dark shadow that surrounded Sakura the whole way to her modest one bedroom apartment. She walked slowly, dragging her feet and looking down, only because that revolted feeling that had been born in the mission briefing was growing and seething in her guts, threatening to make Sakura lose her breakfast if she made anything more than small, jerky movements.

She stood on the doorstep to her apartment with one clammy hand on the doorknob to steady herself, while the other searched under the eaves for the spare key she always kept there for emergencies. She hadn't remembered to grab her own on the way out the door, and now the teenager was left to struggle to reach the spare. The fingers of her left hand nudged it just enough to make a grab for it, but she couldn't reach without letting go of the door and stretching the length of her body up onto her tiptoes. After she'd retrieved the key from above her head, it took her four tries to get the metal into the door lock and let herself into her home because she was still so shaken from her meeting with Tsunade.

As soon as the kunoichi was inside the apartment with the door closed she slumped against it. A head covered in a mass of pink hair fell to the cradle in between the young girl's knees as the breath left her in a rush. She felt dizzy and wavering, having just had everything she'd worked for thrown out the window.

For five years Sakura had given every effort she could to protect the ones she loved. She hadn't always been strong; for years she hadn't even known which path she wanted to take. The medic had chased after a future that wasn't really hers to have, chased after her two boys with her sensei in tow, complaining about anything and everything under the sun but loving it regardless.

Then Sasuke left. She'd been so broken and full of anger. The girl had loved him so much, so completely, and he'd turned his back on her to follow the path to his elder brother. He'd never paid much attention anyway, but he had _been there_. Until he left her on the bench in the dead of night.

Sakura knew she couldn't have done anything to stop him from going. She'd always been the weakest member of team seven, and if her teammate really wanted to leave there was no way for her to contain him. But that didn't mean it that it didn't send waves of anguish cascading through her whenever she thought of where he might be or what he might be doing. It didn't stop her from worrying that Uchiha Itachi might get sick of waiting and finish the job he had started all those years ago; that Sasuke would have to be killed.

Those wheels were set in motion when Sasuke was only a boy of seven, left to carve a name for himself in this world after his whole clan had been massacred by one of their own. The avenger had moved forward relentlessly in search of his vengeance and freedom. He'd only grown stronger in leaps and bounds, refusing to return home to his team, his friends, his only family. Even Naruto, for all his promises and motivation could not bring him back.

Then there was Naruto himself. He was her personal ray of sunshine, positive throughout the atrocities that had been committed against him. He'd never relented or been weighed down by the discrimination heaped upon his shoulders from everyone surrounding him, and he'd never stumbled on his path to achieve his own dreams. From the moment he was born the boy had been avoided all because of a factor that he couldn't change. This boy, orphaned at a young age, was the container for the nine-tailed beast, and he was feared. Now, years later, Naruto boasted friends all over the world. At seventeen he was being considered for the position of Rokudaime, as well as making himself known with his limitless selflessness and compassion.

Sakura thought of Sai, who she'd known the shortest of all. He didn't spend much time with her, but Sai was becoming more and more of a comrade as time went on. He had only recently began seeking out herself and Naruto when they were not on a mission, and Sakura thought he was making great progress with learning how to actually treat others humanely now. He was still reading those self-help books, but if they were doing what they were supposed to (which they were, considering the artist had cut down on the amount of "hag" and "dickless" comments he threw around lately), then who was she to complain?

And finally her sensei. He infuriated her at the best of times, what with his habit to always _know _when someone was waiting for them, and the talent he had for showing up the very moment said person chose to give up and go home, but that was part of the reason she admired him, too; he always knew when she needed him. They'd forged an odd bond, due to years spent training with Naruto and Sasuke and all but avoiding doing the same with her, but it didn't mean he cared any less for her than he did the boys. They were considered equals now, but she still felt like he would always be miles ahead of her in every respect, and so she continued on calling him 'Kakashi-sensei' despite his urging to quit with the teacher suffix already.

With difficulty, Sakura pushed herself up and stumbled into the bathroom, feeling quite a bit more nauseous now that she was remembering exactly _what_ it was she'd have to live without for what could be years; no more ramen with Naruto, no more reprimanding Kakashi for reading his favorite book in public places where everyone could see him, and no more punching Sai through the roof when he made a condescending comment like "ugly". Her stomach churned and twisted, forcing bile up her throat just as she made it to the toilet and felt her knees give out. She collapsed onto the floor, emptying out what had once been the first meal of the day. She choked and hacked for minutes before there was nothing left to throw up, closing the lid of the flush and resting her forehead against it when she had finished.

A frail sob broke from its prison and shattered against the tile on the walls. Moments later an army of tears spilled forth over the dam that had been containing them, and they traced a path down sickly pale cheeks as the girl cried for her lost family, for the ones she loved, and for the last day of the life she had chosen.

*************************

Sakura woke up with a dull, throbbing head ache three hours later. She didn't feel well enough to eat, although it was noon, so instead she climbed into the shower and washed away all signs of her pain in anticipation of spending some time with Naruto. Sometime before she'd fallen asleep she'd decided that even if it meant spending her last meal in Konoha at Ichiraku (which she was actually getting sick of), she'd let Naruto choose the days activities, only after she completed what needed to be done.

That's why, after she was bathed and dressed, she checked the mail that someone had deposited upon her kitchen counter (most likely Kakashi, because he snuck in quite frequently when he was too lazy to go grocery shopping). Most of them were bills, but there was one un-marked envelope in the pile. Sakura's eyebrows knotted in confusion; there was no address, no name, or no date written on the front. She had no clue what it could be. The letter undeniably attracted her curiosity, and so she peeled back the sealed edge and unfolded the contents. It read:

_Sakura, _

_We did not fully discuss your mission this morning. It is imperative that you understand and carry out the following directives before the specified times. Firstly, you must understand that Konoha cannot afford to lose a valuable shinobi like Kakashi, and he will be operating in my command from the a place that only I know._

_Because of this, we are replying on a jutsu similar to the one known Akatsuki members Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigake Kisame have used during the retrieval of the Shukaku two years ago. We have borrowed the body of a foreign shinobi from the morgue, and Kakashi will inject a fraction of his chakra into the corpse, which will then take on his physical characteristics, and bleed as if he were alive. This is risky because enough chakra needed to maintain the disguise for several hours will be necessary, but if too much is infused into the bloodstream the body will mutate and die shortly after implantation. _

_Not long after noon this body will be moved to Kakashi's home through the back alley. The body will be unconscious and will remain that way the duration of your stay. You will visit him no later than 1:30, and he will answer the door and let you in. A neighbor will witness this. Sakura, you must stay there long enough to be considered polite, and be out of there by two at the latest. You will use your charka to incapacitate the body double, leaving just enough of a signature so it can be traced back to Konoha's best medic with no doubt in the matter. Kakashi will use a special jutsu to teleport to a specified location, which I will not disclose even to you._

_This is the time where you will finish anything else you must do. Remember that you must have your bag packed and ready by three thirty, and so that must be the time you return home and stay there. Kakashi has a mission at four, and after waiting two hours I will send an unrelated party to enter his home and discover the body. We will commence an investigation, and shortly before nine you will be taken into my custody. I have considered the possibility of an interruption by your teammates, and I believe that if they intervene it will be soon after you are arrested. Naruto will put off your questioning by at least half an hour if I know him as well as I think. At this time we will notify Ibiki that his presence is needed at the Hokage tower to interrogate you. The timeframe for this is ten to ten thirty. You will have to knock out the shinobi guarding you before Ibiki arrives, and meet the ANBU with your things at the gate. He will escort you for seventeen miles, and the both of you will wait for midnight. When this occurs, you are on your own._

_Sakura. Please do not let anyone catch you. I have arranged to have you brought to me alive if a Konoha shinobi finds you, however I cannot guarantee any leniency from another land. The failure of this mission will most likely result in death._

_I will deal with Naruto as long as I can. You must do the rest on your own. Please be careful, Sakura. Do not forget to sporadically contact me with any information you obtain. And remember, you will be forced to do things you will hate. It will be dangerous, and it will not be easy. But you must do anything you are assigned. _

_This letter will automatically turn itself to ashes once you've finished reading it. _

_Be careful, _

_Tsunade._

The rosette haired kunoichi stared at the words while they blurred and splattered across the page as her tears fell. She crumpled the missive in her fist before she swabbed at her face with the back of her other hand and set the letter down on the kitchen counter. It burst into flames instantaneously and rained ashes down onto the floor. Sakura swept them up and threw them in the trash before she checked how much time she had.

The clock on the wall chimed 1:00.

****************************

Sakura meandered her way through the streets as she killed time. She wanted to get it over with as soon as possible, so it was no surprise when the famous Copy Nin opened his door ten minutes early to be met with the fakest smile he'd ever seen.

"Yo, Sakura-chan." He greeted with a wave, his one visible eye crinkled up due to the small smile on his face.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura replied, quietly. She attempted to glance out of the corner of her eye at the goings-on in the neighborhood, but her previous sensei held the door open so she could enter the house before she could see anything.

"Let's go inside so you can tell me what's bothering you privately," he supplied cheerfully, urging her to step inside. "You never know with those nosy neighbors of mine." She laughed quietly and did as directed.

The door clicked shut behind them, and Sakura audibly swallowed the lump in her throat. "So, uh…" The sentence trailed off between them because there was nothing really to say at the moment, and the girl occupied herself with looking around the living room. She had never been in her sensei's house before, and standing here now really put it into perspective that she'd been thrown headfirst into the oddest situation she could imagine.

Kakashi Hatake stared at her from his position by the door before he moved into the kitchen. "Do you want anything to drink? Water, cola, sake perhaps?"

"Water's fine," she replied, although the thought of the alcohol sent a pleasant feeling down through her. It would help her relax, but she had objectives to complete. She made her way into the room and rested on the edge of his couch. The silence resumed as the older shinobi busied himself with getting his guest something to drink.

"Isn't there any other way?" She questioned out of the blue, staring down at her hands. "I mean…"

A drink was plunked down onto the coffee table in front of Sakura, and the man who had delivered it sighed. "I wish that there was, Sakura. But you know there isn't. Tsunade and I believe you can do this for Konoha. Plus, I think you need some time off from the hospital; Inuzuka mentioned you were so frustrated the other day that you broke his arm after you set his dislocated shoulder when he asked about your _dates_ with Naruto," he replied, smirking at her.

She gaped. "He _told_ you! And besides, they weren't dates!" She huffed, momentarily ignoring the reason she was there. "Just because Sai never wants to go with us everyone keeps assuming!" Her arms were crossed against her chest, and she slumped back against the couch, glaring at the ceiling.

"I'll absolutely kill him," she raged, not at all put off by the snickering coming from the Copy Nin beside her on the couch. "He's lucky that I don't have enough time to kick his ass!"

"Speaking of time," Kakashi murmured, after a short minute, "I do believe that we are running out it." He was right, Sakura noticed, glancing at the clock as the anger rushed out of her, only to be replaced with a penetrating sadness. The clock read 1:47.

"Where is it then?" She questioned, dreadfully, already figuring she knew the answer.

"Down the hall, last door on the right," he answered, standing up and moving toward the direction he had indicated. "And I guess that's my cue to leave. But Sakura?" The masked ninja stopped and looked over his shoulder at her with a grim expression, only made more penetrating by the one gray eye that peered at her from the right side of his face.

"Good luck. I hope you find what you've been looking for," and then he was gone.

Without him the atmosphere in the house was thick and suffocating. It was just a little hot, and the added stress of the fact that there was only a short time before she had to complete her directives weighed heavily on her mind. Sakura sucked in a breath, and followed the indicated path to her destination. She pushed the door open carefully, peeking in before entering.

It was as Tsunade had said in the letter. The body laying on the bed was a mirror-image of the man that had taught her so much, directly or indirectly through the five years since she had been twelve. Slowly, shakily, her fingers connected with the pulse point on his neck to make sure that the man was, indeed, dead. It was not the so much the sight of the corpse that freaked her; as a medic healing the sick and injured was part of her daily life, and she witnessed just as much death. It was more the idea that it looked like someone she cared for dearly that bothered her to the point where she almost thought she would fail her mission in its beginning stages.

Sakura gritted her teeth together and mentally prepared herself for what was the hardest thing she'd endured so far. Leaning over the man, she squeezed her eyes shut, and the last thing he would have seen had he been alive, was the embodiment of healing chakra, shaped into a tiny needle as the apprentice of the Hokage drew it down his chest from his chin to the hips and split his torso open only enough so the victim would die from blood loss.

In Kakashi's apartment, Sakura threw up in his washroom for the second time that day. She splashed cold water on her face and then with one last look at the clock, Sakura exited the home.

_1:59pm._

_*******_

The kunoichi did not go back to her apartment right away. Instead, she headed to Ichiraku because she knew Naruto would already be there enjoying his mid-afternoon snack. Her intuition proved correct.

"Naruto," she called out, plastering a smile onto her face.

"Sakura-chan!" He cheered, waving rapidly at her. "Come eat with me!" He instructed, gesturing wildly at the empty seat to his left. She couldn't help but laugh at his excitement, as her rear contacted the hard wood of the stool next to him. "I didn't bring any money," Sakura informed, "so I can't." Her knuckle-headed teammate waved it off. "I'll pay today. You never wanna come here anymore, so it's a rare treat for me." He grinned, winking at her as he waved at Ayame, placing the order of what he knew to be Sakura's preferred ramen.

"Thanks Naruto," Sakura replied quietly, squeezing his shoulder affectionately. "I just figured since it's such a beautiful day out that I should reward you with my presence."

Her friend laughed at that, and Sakura found it so contagious that she couldn't help but join him.

"So what have you been up to? Tsunade-baa says she gave you the day off from the hospital."

"Uh, yeah. I've been working so hard lately that shishou decided I needed some time off before I over-worked myself," she explained, only telling a bit of a white lie; she _had_ been working too much lately. Most weeks she spent four days at the hospital while the two other medics, Mina and Kiyone, switched shifts back and forth between them when the Hokage could not make it in, but she'd only been receiving one day off a week in the past month. Ayame brought Sakura's bowl of food and the medic split apart her chopsticks to dig in.

"That explains it. I've been looking for you all week to hang out but I haven't been able to find you," he pouted, "but Hinata stopped by here and kept me company yesterday." He was cheerful as he said it, and Sakura felt hope blossoming in her stomach. Just because she couldn't be happy didn't mean one of her best friends couldn't be. Maybe he'd finally figure out that the shy Hyuuga had been in love with him for years.

"That's a nice thing for her to do, since nobody else can stand your obsessive love for ramen to spend a long time here," she teased, "I hope you didn't make her pay." Naruto looked appalled as he replied seriously. "Sakura-chan, I'd never do that to Hinata-chan. The only one who I'd ever even attempt to bribe would be you." At least, she _thought _he was serious until he broke out laughing at her shocked expression.

"Nah, you're the only one who'd do anything like that for me anyway," he amended, turning back to his food. The two fell into companionable silence (well, as much quiet as one could get when their partner was noisily slurping up his fourth bowel of miso ramen), and it remained that way until he was finally done. Naruto paid the bill just before Sakura took his hand and drug him down the street commenting on certain items in shops and even going in to look at a few, but it didn't slip past his notice that for the first-time ever, Sakura didn't even comment once about wanting one of the numerous trinkets and gadgets that caught her attention.

When Sakura mentioned that she had to be home soon, Naruto walked her back. They stopped upon her doorstep, and for the longest time she just looked at him. Sakura just enjoyed the feeling of knowing that he was _here_, that he'd do anything just to make sure that, as one of his closest friends, she was fine, and that he was fine too. Without warning she flung her arms around his shoulders and buried her face in his neck. "Thanks Naruto," she mumbled, "Today was a lot of fun."

If he was surprised he didn't show it too much, only hesitantly wrapped his hands around her lower back and squeezed. "It wasn't a big deal, Sakura. We do it all the time." He said quietly. "You know that if you want to do anything I'm around." She nodded, releasing him slowly and stepping back. "I know. And I really appreciate it. You'll never know how much."

He frowned. "You're acting funny, Sakura-chan," he informed, quirking one golden brow at her. "I think you might need to take a nap or something." He meant well, like always, as he rubbed the back of his head tentatively. "But anyway, I have to go meet Sai now. He actually wanted me to help him with something, the weirdo. One minute he's calling me dickless and the next he's asking for help, that baka." Sakura laughed, said her goodbyes, and watched as her best friend disappeared from view at the end of the street.

_A nap is actually a really good idea_ she thought, planning on doing just that as she shut and locked the door behind her. _But I've got about twenty minutes to pack my things before the ANBU operator comes to get them, so I better get on that first. _

The medic nin advanced to her bedroom and pulled out the green drawstring bag she used frequently when she was sent on a mission from the storage under her bed. It was large enough for a few outfits and her toiletries, a kunai or two, and a couple personal items to fit in it before it was full. Then Sakura began perusing her closet for her most basic, but comfortable outfits. The first thing she reached for was a pair of full length black jogging pants which she wore often when she was sitting around the house, and a loosely fitting blue t-shirt, which she stuffed into her bag. Then she pulled out her favorite denim capri pants, and added a green tank top to her growing bag of clothing. Sakura also pulled a thin sweater over her head, just so she'd have it incase the weather ever became too cold in whatever place she happened to be inhabiting. She stuffed some underwear in there too.

She stuffed her shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, hairbrush, toothbrush and toothpaste, and her razor into her satchel, then padded into the living room and grabbed two pictures; the one of her team, where they'd all managed to get along for the five seconds it took to capture it, and one of her parents last time Sakura had been invited over for Christmas dinner. The last stop was a box in her closet where the kunoichi kept her weapons. She pulled down the box they could be found in when she wasn't using them and grabbed two kunai, and a couple of shuriken. She placed all of them in her bag and tied it up as tight as it would go and placed it on top of her comforter. Sakura slid open the window and left the room. She let herself fall backwards on the couch when she reached it, and it wasn't very long until sleep took her very far away from the nightmare she was living in.

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The knocking on the door woke her up. The first thing she noticed when she came out of her sleep was the time. _8:52. So it's go time, _the apprentice concluded, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She took a minute to herself, laying there on the couch, staring at the ceiling. She let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding and padded over to the door. Her hand was skaking when it closed on the doorknob.

There were four ANBU standing outside her door when she opened it. She frowned, knotting her brows up in what she imagined was a confused expression, but she hoped the faint edge of depression wasn't shining through. She hadn't even left the village yet and she already wanted to give up. What if Akatsuki never came for her? And if they did, could she even manage to keep up her façade? Half of her wanted to scream; the other piece just wanted to drown in the silent determination that was sitting in a very small corner of her stomach. If Sakura failed this mission, there was nothing but death, whether it be by a group of S-class criminals, or the village she'd grown up in. They'd kill her if anything went wrong. Therefore, it was quite clear that failure wasn't an option.

"Is there something I can help you with?" She questioned tentatively.

"Haruno Sakura, you are being arrested for the murder of Kakashi Hatake. Please come us with us." The man who had spoken stepped forward and grabbed her wrists. He was a head taller than her, and the brown hair he sported was shorn short to his head. The mask he had on was that of a cat. "Everything will be easier if you comply without a fight," he reminded, turning her around to bind her arms together with his unique chakra.

"I don't understand! What are you talking about?" Sakura demanded, looking back and forth between the ANBU, "I'd never do anything like that!"

"Residual traces of your charka were found at the crime scene. Hokage-sama has also said that it was found on the body, as well. Kakashi-san's neighbors admitted to watching you enter the apartment earlier today. You were the only visitor, they mentioned." He explained as he pulled her off the doorstep and began yanking her down the street behind him. "And therefore, the main suspect is yourself. The Hokage is waiting. We have orders to detain you with force if necessary," he intoned, still tugging, none too gently.

Sakura had nothing to say to that, and fell silent. It appeared to the others as if she might be biting her tongue for the idea of protecting herself against any incriminating slip of the tongue, but her brain was working a mile a minute, trying to figure out how the next few hours would work out.

Even when they reached the destination the kunoichi didn't say anything. She sat down in the hair metal chair that they made all suspects and S-class criminals sit in while waiting for interrogation as directed and simply stared at the floor. Then the voice of the man who had escorted her broke the silence once more. "Ibiki has not been called yet. We will wait for him to arrive." He exited after informing her, and she heard rather than seen the door close.

She was alone in the room now, but she knew that he was outside the door. _I wonder if the guys know yet _she pondered. _Probably; Naruto's most likely throwing a fit in Tsunade's office by now. _

At ten-thirty the ANBU who had tied her up came back in to let her know that Tsunade had been detained for a while, but she was on her way. He also mentioned that Ibiki had been called and would get here in half an hour.

_It's now or never, _she declared mentally, forcing some chakra into the soles of her feet. _He sure isn't a very smart man if he didn't realize he'd have to restrain my ankles too, because I can still send chakra down to them._ _If I can break the charka bondages, I can escape._ _I have to get out of this place now._ Sakura sat up in the chair so that she would be able to place her feet flat on the surface. The chakra in them would allow the teenager to make it to her feet without using her hands, and now she only had to eliminate the men outside the room as quickly as possible.

She schooled her features into a hard mask of determination, pushed up onto her heels, and with one quick move, she inched over to the room's entrance, breathed deep and slow, then pushed open the door and knocked her escort out by swinging her arms around (bound fists and all) directly at his jaw. _He didn't even have time to alert anyone._

With him out cold, the restraints on her wrists fizzled into nothing. They required absolute chakra control, and an unconscious man certainly couldn't provide that. Her wrists were red and raw where the chakra ropes had been, and with a small pulse of her own healing chakra, a cool ease washed over them and relieved the minor irritation.

Sakura peeked down the passageway. There was no one in the hall. That would make things a lot easier; obviously they expected that she would comply and didn't believe that they would need an army of guards watching over her.

She slipped down the hall undetected, just as she felt the familiar tingle of her teammates and shishou approaching the holding cell. It was hard leaving them, but it was something she had to do, preferably without being caught. However Sakura understood well the idea that if she could sense them, then they could do the same for her, and so she covered her chakra signature and continued on her way to the gates.

The kunoichi slinked along the shadows of the village as she headed towards the ANBU member waiting for her, and only took to the rooftops when the streets were too packed to slip through undiscovered. When she reached the gates there was only a tiny crack in them—only big enough for one person to fit through. Sakura propelled her body sideways through them and spotted her contact.

He was carrying her bag, standing under the canopy of the trees just to the left of her.

"Haruno-san," he began, "We will continue to a cave seventeen miles west from here. It is out of the way of the patrol, and you will wait there until midnight so as to avoid detection." He explained, turning in the direction they were to go. "Please follow me."

They ran through the forest, climbing over what obstacles there were as the both of them moved as quickly as possible by sending energy down the length of their bodies to their feet. The two of them continued on their path for what seemed like an hour, although Sakura realized it couldn't have been more than forty-five minutes. When they reached the cave the ANBU member with her set her things down inside and stayed just outside.

"The current time is 11:47," he informed her. "The border is six miles south of here. In thirteen minutes I will head back and you will leave this place. Please be on watch for anyone; it is late, but you never know who you will meet," he cautioned, keeping a careful eye on her as she let herself slid down the cave wall and place her head into her hands. "Yours is a very important mission. You cannot afford to fail."

Sakura attempted to relax the remainder of the time, but the knowledge of what she was still required to do wore on her nerves. Of course the staring companion she was currently in the presence of didn't help matters much either, but it couldn't be helped. _There isn't much time left anyway, so I have to try not to let it bother me. _

"Haruno-san. It is time to go," he announced ten minutes later. "I will be leaving now. Good luck." He said, and disappeared into the inky black of the foreboding night.

Konoha's most recent missing-nin took her stuff, and ran. Only when her feet were firmly on the soil of River country and in the cover of the treetops did Sakura collapse and begin to cry as the rain poured down, soaking through her clothes and saturating her hair, masking the tears that made tracks down her cheeks.

**tbc. **

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Well, there you go! Thanks for the reviews guys.

I may not update this as often as I'd like, only because I have another story going. I might alternate updates between that one and this one, but depending on the length of chapters the wait in between may be small.

So thanks for all the support, and I hope you enjoy this long chapter!


	3. Welcome To The Black Parade

Okay, so I'm really sorry for the long wait and the crappy quality, but I've been so busy moving into university and all that jazz, so this is the best you get right now, and it might be that way for the next little while. I'll write when I have the time, but no promises! I just wanna thank everyone who's following this story, or was, at least, a month or so ago when it first took root!

Anyway, why would I be spending tens of thousands of dollars every year if I owned Naruto? Good Question. I wouldn't. So please tell me when I do so I can inform Student Loan their services will no longer be needed!

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It was a few hours later that Sakura found the willpower to force herself back onto her feet. She shouldered her pack and examined her surroundings. There was no way to tell exactly where she was, only that signs of human life were visible in the surrounding area, and that meant that there had to be a village nearby. The young shinobi closed her eyes and focused her charka, attempting to detect any signs of which direction the village could be in.

_I'm glad that Tsunade-shishou thought to teach me that everything has a chakra signature, _Sakura thought, _or else it may take me days to find somewhere I can stay for a day or two. Plus, I'm _really_ hungry. I should have never skipped lunch!_

It wasn't always easy to pick out which chakra belonged to which life-form—it took Sakura almost a month to be able to sort through them even after all the time it had taken to _feel_ them in the first place. Most were so minute that unless the shinobi was directly trying to sense them, that they would not be noticed. Like a fingerprint, every living, breathing, piece of this world had a distinct signature, but specific groupings like trees, different species of animals, and all other plants were similar to others within their own group. Most of these signatures were pretty much stable, and were unwavering in their intensity. Humans however…these were easy to pick out, if only based on the fact that human emotions fluctuated so frequently that chakra levels often spiked or remained calm depending on what the person was feeling at that time. Chakra really was the basic element of life.

_There! Signs of human activity seven kilometers from here! _Sakura detected, slipping from the sheltered canopy of the trees overhead. She forced chakra into her feet to help her arrive at her destination in the shortest amount of time possible because she was tired, she was hungry, and _all I want is a damn shower! _She repeated like a mantra in her head. _That is the first thing I'm doing when I get there! _

The pace of the soles of her feet didn't slow as they plowed their way through the mud and leaves, even as they were sucked in by the quicksand like mix of rain and sludge pooling around her ankles. Sakura pushed forward, watching as the lights of the gold-mining town ahead of her twinkled into view and slid closer and closer, until she was outside a run-down, almost ghost-town type set-up. A dark hood of the jacket she was wearing was pulled into place, and only her eyes and a few tendrils of pink hair were visible, and although she was covered, she could not shake off the ominous feeling of being watched.

_Great,_ she flinched, _the first night of my mission and I'm already in a cockroach infested cesspool! But I suppose as long as the water runs and there's a bed to sleep in…_

Cold fingertips pushed open the door of the only inn found in the small village, and jade eyes peeked in to gauge the environment that the pinkette was about to step into. _Dirty, but manageable, _she sighed, entering the establishment. She stepped up to the counter, and as she waited for service she continued scanning the room. Green eyes took in not only a motel like setting, but a bar and several tables squeezed into the right corner of the room. Two men were sitting around one of the tables, but one was facing away and the lighting was too dim to determine what the other looked like. She could tell they were men only because of the deep voice tones as they drifted quietly across the room. Despite that, she could not hear what they were talking about.

"Ello miss! Can I help ya with somethin'?" A roaring voice boomed in her ear. Sakura swiveled around to look at the manager of the building, and had to deny herself the urge to recoil. The man had to be older than seventy, and there was a very distinct odor sprouting from his general area that reminded her of week-old gym socks and garlic. One open eye leered at her from his place behind the counter, and Sakura was glad for the first time that she had agreed to wear the almost potato-looking sack so that this man had to focus on the only available glimpse of the woman underneath, otherwise she was sure her face wouldn't be what held his perverse glance.

"A room for one, please," she murmured faintly, looking up at him from under her eyelashes.

"Eh, I think I got one of 'em left," he shrugged, collecting the rustic number _17_ key from the wall behind him. "The plumbin's been backed up for a while so the pressure ain't that good but it works," he informed dutifully, smirking. "Ya got lucky; the maid took a run-through earlier and cleaned up all them there bugs hangin' around."

"Thank you," Sakura replied monotonously, although less than excited for her room. She snatched the key from his grubby fingers and almost stomped up the stairs. She smashed the key into the lock and twisted violently, before pushing simultaneously. The door banged open and slammed off the wall behind it, but Sakura was already half-naked on her way to the shower. She stopped in front of the mirror and took in her all too pale face, the puffy lips, eyes, and red nose from crying all night. Her eyes were dull and her hair was plastered to her face from the rain, despite the hood she'd been wearing all night.

She sighed and twisted the knobs on the old tub. The hot water stuck for the few tries, but eventually the water flowed brown from the faucet. She retreated in disgust, but let it run for a few minutes until it was clear. When the kunoichi deemed it clean enough, she stepped inside the small four by four shower stall and pulled up on the nozzle to start the stream of water from overhead.

Sakura smoothed her hands over her face and leaned on the wall as the water rained down on top of her head. The rosette haired teen stayed in that position for a short while, then began the task of washing the grime from her body. Stepping out of the shower she dressed mechanically the pair of sweatpants she'd brought, as well as the t-shirt, and collapsed bonelessly on the single, dark-stained mattress in the room. The kunoichi folded her hands behind her head and stared up at the ceiling for what seemed like hours before the dark hands of sleep stole her from the nightmare she'd been living all day.

*****************************

It was so dark that she couldn't see a thing, and there was a retched smell of burnt cloth clogging her nasal passages. The next thing she realized was that someone was in the room with her, if the deep pants close to her ear were any indication. _No, not some_one_, _she concluded in horror, fighting down the panic at having her sight disabled. That would be a major disadvantage. _There's at least two people in the room! I can't even detect any chakra signatures! _

"Aren't you going to stop fighting for a dream that you cannot achieve?" That voice was deep and rich as dark chocolate as it melted through her eardrums, but it sent an innate sense of danger straight through to her brain. It was the voice of a man she had met somewhere before but could not place. Sakura couldn't understand why, but she felt as if the question wasn't meant for her and kept her mouth shut.

"Never," the ragged, weakened, voice of a different man replied immediately. A shock of lightning raced down Sakura's spine as she recognized that one as Sasuke's. But what could he be doing here? And what was he doing so tired, so pained?

"Then you still have not learned anything." The tone was absolute, and left a sick feeling that settled in the pit of the kunoichi's stomach. "You will not best me with what little power you have." It was quiet for a few moments and then, "Power is not only the ability to win battles. It is the knowledge and strength to use your enemy's weakness to your own advantage. You may have grown in physical strength since we last met, but you still do not understand _why _we fight this way. You believe in something, but you do not know the circumstances. Not only do you fight me, but your own friends. Tell me, _Sasuke_, where do your loyalties truly lie? With Konoha, or with a group of rebels?"

And then the sound of shattering bones.

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Sakura shot straight up out of bed, and cradled her head, eyes wide open.

"Woah, that was one freaky nightmare," she muttered to a breezy room bathed in moonlight. "Strange, I don't remember the window being open," Sakura frowned and extended a leg to climb out of bed. Her toes had barely touched the cold floor when a large, warm hand coiled around her calf. "It wasn't."

Sakura spun around so fast she almost threw her back out, and suddenly felt the nausea from her dream working itself back up into her stomach. There was nobody that she could see in the room, but a black cloak with red clouds was hanging from the back of the lonely chair in the far left corner of the room.

"Akatsuki," she breathed.

"Got that right, kunoichi," the sand-paper voice came again, this time immediately behind her. When Sakura swiveled around this time, she came face to chest with a man who had the head of a shark, rows of pointed teeth glinting dangerously in the small amount of light the moon provided. He was devoid of his cloak, but the bandage wrapped sword he was leaning on was legendary enough to identify him as Akatsuki without the trademark clothing. His partner leaned quietly in the corner closest to the window, watching with inscrutable sharingan eyes.

"Haruno Sakura," he intoned, "Kisame and myself just cannot understand why one such as yourself would be here, in this place, alone."

Sakura tensed up and matched his stare with one of her own. "I don't believe it's any of your business," she spat.

The Kimigakure ninja decided to jump in at this point. "That's the way you want it then, huh? People are talking about a pretty little pinkette having abandoned Konoha after killing her very own genin teacher," he smirked at her with that mouthful of razor teeth. "So we followed you here, cause leader wants some answers. Lucky we were outside of Konoha when it happened, otherwise we might've missed where ya where headed."

"So what?" She retaliated. She figured she should probably be unsettled about the stalking part, but there didn't seem to be any immediate threat in it and so she let it slide just this once. "I don't need to explain myself to you!"

"No, you do not. Leader-sama only questions your loyalties. He does not understand why someone with your abilities would suddenly turn your back on your traditions, teachings, and family." Uchiha Itachi informed. "He is worried about your intentions. He believes that you cannot be trusted, and so we must keep an eye on you. This would not be a problem for you, except for the fact that your physical strength is enough to warrant quite a bit of…unwanted attention. "

Sakura scoffed. "I have no family in Konoha. The people there turned their back on me, kicked me when I was down, and spat on me. There's only one use for me, they say." She returned, tone bitter.

Itachi considered her for a moment. "Truly you do not believe that the situation can be solved so easily? There is only one thing I want you to know, before you answer my question—"

The kunoichi chose to butt into the sentence with a "I haven't heard any questions!", while Itachi ignored the interruption and went on. "Leader-sama wants to keep you close to keep his eye on you, but that is not all." He paused, as if he was waiting for yet another interruption. "Haruno Sakura. As much as it pains me to admit, my eyesight is indeed failing. Akatsuki believes that you, as the one who has surpassed the Hokage, can solve this problem."

The silence enveloped the three (Kisame had relocated to sit on the foot of the worn-out bed) in a heavy blanket, and it took several moments for Sakura to find her outraged voice amongst the chaos in her head.

"Are you…Are you _propositioning_ me for Akatsuki?" She demanded loudly, before an elbow was firmly pressed into her collarbone and her mouth was sealed shut by one pasty blue hand. Sakura tore at the hand with her fingers, but it was latched tightly in place.

"Are you daft?" He hissed in her ear. "All we want is a yes or a no. But then," the smirk slid back into place, "_we're_ easier to satisfy than Leader-sama." The chuckle that followed was more like a choked, rasping sound from deep in his throat. "I'll release you if you promise to be a good little girl and make us a deal."

Sakura clenched her teeth together, and nodded carefully, slowly, keeping her eyes trained on him in anticipation of another attack. He did not let her go, only loosened his grip somewhat and released her mouth.

"What's in it for me?" The rosette questioned quietly.

The crimson sharingan really was nerve-wracking, Sakura decided, having it stare you down. It was no wonder that grown men quaked in fear when faced with it. It was no wonder Kakashi-sensei had been sent into intensive care.

"You will not be constantly looking over your shoulder for rebel ninja. You will get paid. You will have a place to come home to," Itachi listed, "and you will be given your revenge." He stopped here, staring her down to gauge her reaction.

"Tell me, _Sakura_, where do your loyalties truly lie? With Konoha, or with a group of rebels?" Once more the injustice of it all struck her. It was déjà vu, except that Sakura was not in a nightmare any longer; with stunning clarity it hit her.

"You arrogant asshole, you cast a genjutsu on me earlier!" She hissed, trying to throw herself out of the arms that were firmly holding her, reaching out with her fingers. When the first attempt failed, Sakura pushed chakra into her arms and shoved against her captor. The arms came loose with a _crack!_ And Sakura lost her balance and stumbled forward, swinging her fists the whole way.

It was all futile. She missed, and fell forward onto her knees, looking up at the clan murderer in front of her, who was also looking back at her, a dispassionate look shining in his eyes.

"Yes or no?" He repeated. "This is the last offer."

"Take it or leave it," added Kisame, squeezing a dislocated index finger back into place.

Sakura lowered her viridian gaze to the dusty floorboards and pretended to think carefully. "There's a test I have to complete when we get there?"

"Yes."

_Well, I suppose that I'll do it, you know, because if Akatsuki really wants me to help you, the test ready for me can't be one that will kill me, right? I mean, this is my mission, and what better chance will I ever get? Wait, take that back. If I say no, there won't _be_ another chance! _ She reasoned to herself. With anew determination shining in her eyes, Haruno Sakura gathered herself from the floor and asked one question: "So when are we leaving?"

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Thanks again guys! Please keep all your reviews and constructive criticism coming. I'm enjoying all the favorites and alerts that I'm receiving, and hopefully you'll all enjoy this chapter while the next one is slowly pushed out!


	4. Poison

Okay guys, so here I am again, working on the latest chapter. I've re-read the last one and noticed that there was a lot of mistakes I didn't catch the first time around so I went back and fixed them as well as changed a few parts that sounded weird to me. Still, don't be afraid to point any out if you find some when you're reading, because that just helps me go back and correct them! I'm having trouble getting these next few chapters to sound the way I want, so it's been taking a few tries, but slowly it's progressing to the point where I'm happy with it, and hopefully the wonderful readers of this story will like it too. There is some bad language coming up, so please be aware of that. Oh and, just so you know, this story will attempt to follow the latest manga chapters as closely as possible, but for the sake of the plotline some things have not taken place, others have been edited, and some Akatsuki members that are dead/quit, are still there.

I hope everyone's figured out that I don't own Naruto. If not, go back and watch and episode or two and see who's name appears in the credits, because it sure as heck doesn't belong to an eighteen year-old university student from Canada.

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Sleep the rest of the night did not come easy. Details of the next day had been finalized before she was given the chance to fall asleep once more, and the two S-Class criminals had quietly taken up positions near the door and near the window so as to avoid an escape attempt. Sakura laid awake and counted holes in the tiles of the ceiling for over an hour, sneaking suspicious eyes back and forth from the taller criminal to the other every once and a while in the dark. She had no way to find out what the time was, and so every minute that passed felt like an hour.

It wasn't long after she had managed to fall asleep that the sun woke her up. She blinked sleepily and let out a yawn, stretching her arms above her head as if to touch the old rickety ceiling. Sakura noticed several things at once; the shower was running, the door to the room was open and she was alone in the immediate area. Quietly she slid out of bed and moved to her open bag sitting underneath the chair Kisame's cloak had been occupying the night before. The kunoichi grabbed the clothes she'd been wearing yesterday, and after casting a cautious glance from both the bathroom door to the door to the hallway, she changed.

The Kirigakure shinobi emerged from the bathroom ten minutes later to witness Sakura sitting on the bed, just staring at the floor while she chewed on her lip. "Gotta problem, Pinky?" She glanced up at him, and for a minute that's all she did, before putting on a brave face and crossing her arms. "Che, I don't have a problem, other than the fact that the bathroom smells like tuna now." The smirk he'd been wearing fell off his face, and he glowered at her. "I don't smell like a damn fish," he growled at her, "but this shithole of place really reeks."

Silently she agreed, but the pinkette refused to voice that and asked instead, "Where's Itachi gone?" Kisame turned his back on her in favour of closing the door for privacy. "He's gone out to buy some stuff and to take a look around. We gotta leave River Country today and head slightly northwest to reach our destination," he smirked at her at this point, because she still did not know where the destination _was_. Either they were headed to the country of Earth, Bird country (although she couldn't imagine what they'd need to stop there for) or they were headed to… _Oh shit. The only other place is Amegakure! That's where the main base is located. I may have gotten myself into more trouble than I predicted. _

"We're leaving in ten minutes."

Sakura gathered all her things together and made a trip to the washroom to check out the condition of her hair and wash her face. When she exited the bathroom Kisame was waiting for her by the door, his cloak done up and the familiar straw hat placed on top of his head. He left her to go check out, taking a different exit, and met up with her again outside of the establishment. They didn't talk to each other, save for directions on what to do next and where to meet Itachi, who was leaning against one of the trees about a mile outside of the village limits. He appraised her with a careful eye, then turned his attention to Kisame.

"I have gathered everything we need. The path is clear for the most part, and we should reach the village in six hours, if everything goes as planned." He spared Sakura a reproachful glance, as if to communicate _which means don't slow us down_ with those crimson eyes he was so famous for.

She scoffed, but put her feet into motion as the pair of Akatsuki turned and began to trek down the path through the trees. Silence reigned once more, and it left Sakura to put more thought into what she did and didn't know about the remaining organization members, as well as what could possibly be awaiting her. _Okay, so there's that guy in the mask, Fish Face, the creepy plant dude, Itachi, Deidara, that religious guy, the leader, and a possible other member that we don't know about yet. It can't be that bad…right? _

They had to stop four hours later because Sakura had to take a quick pee break, but they didn't stop for anything else; not even the rain that began pelting down on them the closer they got to Hidden Rain. The kunoichi had to bundle herself up in her sweater and wrap her arms around herself because of the chilling weather, but her companions appeared undeterred and the pace did not slow.

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It was hard to contain the awe she felt as she craned her head upwards to see the tops of some of the buildings in Amegakure. At one point she even cut back on the pace at which she was traveling. The shinobi from Kirigakure had to pull her along as her attention was ensnared, but the kunoichi had to stop looking upwards because the rain was plastering her hair to her face and falling into her eyes, momentarily clouding her vision every once and a while.

The trio hadn't been walking through the village long when Itachi came to a halt in front of one of the tallest buildings in the town. The massive steel structure seemed to stretch up for miles, and had plenty of ledges and windows. All in all, it did not seem the lair of a gang of dangerous criminals, but Sakura followed obediently after the pair of Akatsuki members as they led her down progressively darker hallways until they reached a large, ornate pair of wooden doors.

Itachi turned to face her after knocking on the door. "We will not be going in with you. Leader wants to see you alone. Do not lie to him. Speak only when it is appropriate." He instructed, staring at her with an unemotional face before turning to his partner. "Kisame, we have something we must discuss." Kisame offered her a parting wave. "See you later, Pinky, if Leader-sama don't eat ya first," he added, grinning maliciously before both of them disappeared down a separate hallway from the direction in which they had come.

"Enter."

Hesitantly, Sakura took a deep breath, and pushed the door open. The room was shrouded in a grey tint due to the small cracks of light that peeked in behind the blinds, and the fact that the lights were off. She could see a man with a shock of orange hair and a mass of facial piercings scrutinizing her from behind a large mahogany desk (which was almost devoid of anything in the terms of paper or pens; the only thing she could see was what looked like tiny pieces of origami birds. It struck her as a little odd).

"Please sit," he directed, gesturing smoothly at the only other chair in the room, opposite him. The kunoichi sunk into it, surprised at its level of comfort, but still tense despite it. She clenched her hands into fists so as not to fidget with her fingers. She would not show fear. She could not afford to.

"Haruno Sakura. How nice it is to finally meet the one who killed my puppet master, although, surprising it is in this circumstance." He was still watching her, only now she noticed the pattern of swirls that made up his eyes. Once more she swallowed the nagging feeling in her gut and swallowed any excess saliva building up in her mouth.

"Why did you have me brought here?"

"You say that as if you do not know. I am aware that Itachi has informed you of the reasons we have spent the time to seek you out. But what I want to know, is why you _are_ here." It hung in the air thick as smoke for a minute. She lowered her eyes to her lap, and began to weave the story she had been working on.

"My village has disowned me. People think I'm a freak; even my shishou can't stand to be around me anymore. She's scared that I'm surpassing her not only in strength, but in what I know. My parents didn't want a daughter that was raised to be a fighter working in a hospital. Kakashi began ignoring me. Even when I was younger he never wanted to help me. Naruto was the only one who… Who treated me like I wasn't trash. But then left me; left me to go hunt down a friend who didn't even want him! I got so sick of it. I wanted out. So I did. I left it all behind. I wanted to be my own person again, free of Konoha's ideals. I want somewhere I can belong." She finished, quietly, chewing nervously on her lip.

"Very well. To be fair after you've told me this, if you can complete a simple task for me, you may ask me three questions." Pein informed, rising from his desk and suddenly becoming much more imposing. He was very tall, Sakura noted, standing just under 5'10, as compared to her 5'4. The Leader moved from the desk to a bookshelf that had escaped previous notice, and removed a mid-sized book from the left side. When the book was pulled open one very small rusted key slid into one of the criminal's hands. He moved back to the desk and turned the key in the left side topmost drawer's lock. It squeaked and stuck somewhat as it was tugged slowly open, signaling that the desk was very old, and Sakura felt paralyzed with fear after her jade eyes locked onto the small vial that was being carefully extracted.

"Sakura, you know what this is, do you not?"

A nod was the only response that he received in response.

"Theoretically, then, you could create an antidote for it? In, let's say, five hours or so? You may have use of what you need. The ingredients can be found downstairs in the medical lab, and if not, there is a high chance that Zetsu has produced what you need in his greenhouse, although I wouldn't recommend that option."

Sakura took a moment to consider her task. Although the substance was not the same colour (it carried more of a hint of teal rather than violet), it was to be assumed that it was definitely a poison that had survived to tell the tale of the one who had made it. _Five hours would normally be enough time, but I don't know what it is or even what it does. Without knowing that, it'll be really difficult to make anything that could help me." _

"I don't think that I cou—''

"Nonsense. Although hallucinatory drugs aren't too common around here in this day and age, the ingredients for them are quite common, don't you think? But, if you are sure you cannot do this, then I will have to end this meeting on a very, sour note. For you, at least." She glanced from the vial to his face and caught the very slight upward tilt of lips. It only added to the tension, and signified that it would not be a problem for him to follow through on his threat.

_So not a poison like I first thought. That really helps. There's only a few things that could produce that colour and not be fatal. Actually, that _doesn't_ help that much. Knowing the small bit I do about the guy who made it, it could be anything! Maybe if I could just have a look around I could find something._

"You said the medical labs and the greenhouses, but if that's not where it was developed I won't be able to find anything."

The chair creaked as he relaxed back into it, an amused emotion flitting momentarily across his face. _So he's aware that I'm baiting him. But the question now is how far he wants to play along with me. How much they need me._

"If you are asking for access to Sasori's room, I doubt you will find anything of use, but look if you like. I will have someone take you there. Your time begins when you set foot outside this room."

***************

The first cursory glance of the room didn't yield much interest. It had been cleared of mostly all furniture; the bed that had most likely existed here once was not anywhere to be seen, and only a desk and single chair occupied the darkest corner of the bare wooden room. Books were stacked in messy piles near to the desk, papers were crumbled here and there on the floor, and words scratched into the wood. Her escort had left her at the door with instructions that he would be waiting when she was ready to leave, choosing to wait outside instead.

Sakura stepped forward and had to try very hard to hold back a sneeze that threatened to come out when the dust from the floor was stirred up for the first time in a long time. She checked the desk first; searching for important notes or lists, but there was nothing she could use to be found there. Reaching for the closest stack of books brought the gross feeling of grime crusting around her fingertips. She brought them closer to her face to examine in the dim light, and felt her knees shake as her face recoiled in disgust. _It's blood! There's dried freakin' blood all over these books!_ Her inner screamed. The kunoichi sucked in a breath and reached out once more. There wasn't time to worry about details like that; she needed to find some kind of clue.

The book on the top wasn't even about poisons or possible drugs; it contained information on governmental polices. The next one was so old that the pages crumbled between her fingers. The third book, in the pile however, didn't have even have a cover. It was bound by strings and yellow with age. Sakura flipped through this one, reading through the various headings until she flipped past one page with a single word written in the margins of one of the pages. She turned it back and stared at the message with confusion.

_Corydalis_.

_But why would—Of course! When injected with it, it promotes the movement of blood throughout the body, encouraging the brain to work harder to support the bigger load. It can easily cause hallucinations!_ Excitement raced from her feet all the way up to her ears, and the smile that broke out on her face was unstoppable. _Enough of the substance by itself is effective. Maybe if I try that? But what would counter that?_

Making sure to grab the text, Sakura stood up and took one last probing glance around before leaving the room. The escort was still standing near the door waiting, and he didn't wait to see where she wanted to go before he started to trek down a hallway to the left of them.

"The med lab. You have just over four hours," he offered as way of explanation when they stopped walking, leaving her to her own devices once more. The pinkette nodded and went inside, closing the door behind her.

This room was muggy, but it wasn't a problem because for the first time in a while she was back in a setting that she understood very well; one that she was quite comfortable with. The walls surrounding her were white, and there were no windows, but the lights snapped on automatically once someone crossed the threshold. There was one operating table pushed into one corner and a cart carrying gauze, needles, surgical tools, and rubber gloves situated in the middle of the room. There was a filing corner against the wall opposite the door which Sakura assumed held all the medications and ingredients.

The kunoichi grabbed one end of the table and pulled it a few metres until it was next to the cart before placing the book she had brought on top of it. For the next half hour or so she worked out what she thought she would need, and gathered everything up. Three tries exploded on her, and one turned a vicious brown colour that definitely didn't seem right. After a dozen tries the rosette haired woman had narrowed it down to three possible solutions. She considered this for a while, and when she was sure she was happy with what she'd come up with, she decided to go and give it a try.

*************************************************

Leader raised one eyebrow at her after setting his sights on the failed attempts that were splattered on her clothes. She glowered, and proffered the cures she'd come up with.

"I believe," he began, "that I said make _an_ antidote, not three."

"I know what you said, but there was no way to test anything, so I went with the idea that more is better," she replied.

"Efficient," he noted, nodding his head. "I have someone willing to do the testing for us, so please, follow me." She stood still while the man exited the room in front of her, tracing his path down the back the way they'd taken when Sakura and her pair of Akatsuki companions had entered the building to a more lighter, more airy portion of the building. When they arrived at their destination Sakura noticed that the dark-haired man sitting on the single chair was limp, but the few murmurs she could distinguish were about people eating oranges. _He's sedated. So he's not really willing_, Sakura noted wryly.

The Leader produced a syringe from a pocket in his cloak and chose the first of the three antidotes. Sakura waited for a reaction and hoped for the best, but nothing other than the twitching of two of the man's fingers took place. The second of the two (orange in colour), however, produced a favourable reaction. The mumbling's abruptly stopped and the man's attention changed focus from a certain point in front of him to stare wide-eyed at Sakura and her companion.

****************************

"You have done very well, Haruno. The rumours of what you're capable of seem to be fact."

"Thank you, sir." She accepted, settling back into the chair in front of his desk.

"As promised, a place within Akatsuki, should you accept, and your questions to be answered. Here is the point I feel the need to emphasize the need for trust in this organization. Failure to do that or denial to complete an order will result in your punishment."

Sakura considered. "I accept, Leader-sama."

Pein smirked, then paused, leaning back in his chair, open for future questioning.

"What is the true goal of Akatsuki?" She asked, carefully.

"That is the best you can come up with? Very well, then. We have three smaller goals that comprise one larger one. First, we desire to obtain as much money as possible. This way we will be able to purchase everything necessary for supporting our organization. Next, we have taken steps to ensure that all mercenary and rebel groups are ultimately under our control by ensuring that we have more power than they do. This has also been done by accepting missions, whatever they may be, at a lower cost than would normally be acceptable. Naturally you see how this puts us in a good position with others. Finally, Akatsuki seeks to end all wars, by showing the countries that we do indeed have more power than they do. This includes collecting all nine of the tailed beasts to stifle the power of the tenth, and using their power to our advantage. People would be forced to depend on us."

Sakura frowned. "Wait, you'd end all wars? That's not possible if you intend to do it through intimidation and fear!"

"On the contrary; if it's been proven that one nation has more power than another, even foolish determination to overthrow them becomes useless. All the people in the world cannot stop an enemy if that enemy's tools are better, you see. But yes, when we take power, the wars will end. And that was two questions."

"Okay, so it makes sense but… Hold on a minute, you said 'the tenth'?" Her eyes were wide, staring in disbelief.

"Yes, the Jubi—sealed away because of it's uncontrollable power. It is believed to be a mixture of the other nine beasts. Because of this, you see why all nine others are necessary to keep it in check. It's quite dangerous, really. Was that all? If it was then I believe it's time to introduce you to your partner and get settled in." Pein moved to the door and opened it, before moving back to his desk. "He should arrive any minute now; he knows that we're expecting him."

Like a sneeze when someone says your name, a blond, blue-eyed S-class criminal stepped into view at that moment and Sakura's heart dropped like a rock into her stomach. The only thing that crossed her mind was: _Oh shit._

************************************************

I don't pretend to know anything about flowers or anything of the sort so I purposely left out the antidote ingredients, and if something doesn't make sense you know the deal. Just let me know and I can go back and iron out all the odd parts. Don't forget to read and review, you guys!


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